Little step-by-step review video, for those who need help...


Thank you CNET for the nod to the 2007 LS460. I know you hated the Park Assist feature...

 

I was a Porter/Valet for 2 years, parking, backing up and parallel parking are second nature.

Haha at the last comments, the car may soon be able to drop you off and park itself. Fantastic

 

That's a big *** spot for a Mazda 3

 

Exactly, let's see how he demonstrate the Parallel park with a Navigator in that space.
anyways, the best place to learn about Parallel park would be NYC, and that was how I learned.

And thanks to op for the video heheh

 

Best solution is to live and work in the suburbs. I never parallel park anymore, lol.

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This reminds me of an old movie line. In a Woody Allen movie, Annie Hall, Diane Keaton is parallel parking and asked Woody Allen if they are close enough. His response: "Yes, we can walk to the curb from here."

 

Good video. I agree with all of his instructions except one. It's usually not a good idea to crank the steering wheel when the car is sitting still, because it can put a strain on the steering-arms, ball-joints, CV joints, and tires.

 

I've only had to parallel park twice in my life. The second time I curbed my rear wheel so I stopped after that. I'll practice now since I'm on stockies again haha

 

man..parallel parking is easy.

 

I fail to understand why people do not know how to parallel park or drive a manual. Those are 2 very important life skills, right up there with tying your shoes and baiting a hook.

 

To be fair, it's hard to learn to drive a manual when there are few manual transmissions out there. Look in the ads for any model that isn't an econobox and tell me how easy it is to find one. I was fortunate in that my family drives older cars, so I did learn to drive a manual.

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What's wrong with learning to drive manual in an econobox? I 1st learned how to drive manual in a 78 or 79 Chevette(taught by my mother), followed that by a modified 97 Civic, that I also taught my GF at the time on. She got comfortable to the point that when she purchased a car 6 months later it was a manual Chevy sedan. Taught another female friend how to drive a manual in a turbo'd gs eclipse. Taught my ex wife in a rented mustang. Though far from an econobox I'm about to let a good friend learn how to drive manual on my s2000 well enough that we can codrive events when I can make it up her way or she can make it down here. Econoboxes, even mildly modified make excellent platforms for learning the fundamentals of driving stick. My current chick is asking to learn, but she is so ham-fisted that I'm not letting her near my S & will definitely be going the rental route.

While I agree that manuals are beginning to go the way of the Dodo, I think that it is a piece of knowledge that once obtained tends to be passed along. Both my parents could and did frequently drive manuals. They were both taught by their fathers. They taught 2 out of the 3 of their children (my youngest sister just plain can't drive. Chick has had her license suspended for longer than she has possessed one). My middle sister has taught at least one person, and I've taught several, with at least one that I know of going on to teach someone else. Much like parallel parking, driving a manual simply isn't widely taught any more, and you basically have to know someone that knows someone to learn either. Sad, because some of the best times that I've had in a car have been because I can drive a manual, and I want as many people as possible to be able to expereince that for themselves.

Unfortunately our attitudes about driving have changed so much, that rarely is it about the pure experience. Driving manual isn't about getting that last 10/10ths of performance or fuel economy, as both aspects have been eclipsed by advancements in transmission technology. Driving a manual is a visceral experience that connects you with the machine that is surrounds you and to the surface beneath you in a way that nothing else can...and we're slowly losing it.